Voracious
by Unanorak
Summary: Renais opens it gates to new knight recruits and hundreds enter. A boy gets into mishaps during the first couple minutes. As the trails begin and conclude, a dark force is corrupting Magvel and an ally to the new king. These new knights get placed into a dangerous expedition that will test their loyalty and willpower to their limits. Explanation inside, hope you enjoy!


**My first attempt at a Fire Emblem story and this is my reason for choosing this and why. **

**Originally, I got into the series like most Americans: Super Smash Bros Melee. I decided to try a FE game because the "perma-death" thing interested me and I tried, and got hooked into, Sacred Stones. Since then, I played many others and one that I liked was the remake of the second game. The intro of this is set up in a similar fashion to the Altean Knight's trails. I chose to write it in the Sacred Stones universe because I got an idea for a plot and this game seems to be the most stand alone (despite people classifying it in the same universe as Binding Blade and Rekka no Ken) **

**Anyway, I hope this is an enjoyable read so here is the first chapter.**

* * *

Despite being in the beautifully decorated castle of Renais, anyone who walked into the courtyard would feel the feelings of nervousness from the large group of young men and women. The people were lined up to become recruits and, hopefully, future knights of Renais. People holding swords, axes, knives, staves, tomes, bows, and lances filled the area, some on horses, some clad with heavy armor, and some, although scarce, rode wyverns and pegasi.

A man rode up to the group on a decorated, armor clad horse. He was an older man, roughly in his later fifties, but had a kind face as he dismounted his horse and cleared his throat, immediately stopping any idle chatter.

"The gates of our castle had been opened to you future recruits. We welcome any person who wants to help protect Renais, and the entire continent of Magvel, if need be. These trails will be fair, cadets will be chosen by skill and not by blood. Nothing will be easy, you may leave at any time if you feel this isn't the right path for you," The man said, pacing down the line slowly. A beautiful silver sword was sheathed on his side. "A variety of instructors will be testing each and every one of you individually. They will answer any questions you have before having a quick sparring match to evaluate your initial skill."

In the distance, four people tightly grouped together walked forward, followed by four men in bulky armor, holding immense lances. They approached the elderly paladin, who bowed respectfully at them. The easily recognizable man stepped forward.

"I welcome and thank each and every one of you for your loyalty to our kingdom. I look forward to hearing from General Seth about your progress. If my schedule would allow me, I would've loved to participate and see your skill firsthand," King Ephraim said. He bore no weapon but still struck fear into everyone despite his kind words. He was a man of impact.

"S-sorry," A voice said, coming from a girl behind a boy holding a sword. He turned to see a girl bent over as she picked up her Fire tome before bumping her head on him. He waved it off quickly.

"Don't worry about it," the boy said, turning his head slightly. As he turned back forward, a woman with green hair was staring at him with one eye shut and her tongue sticking out.

"Speaking when the king is speaking isn't very polite, young man," Queen L'Arachel said, waving her finger back and forth. The boy panicked and the girl behind him spoke up.

"Y-your majesty. I dropped my tome and he picked it up. Don't punish him for my clumsiness!" The girl quickly said, moving to the side to be seen.

"L-L'Arachel, it's alright. I imagine everyone is eager to begin. General Seth, you may begin the initial exams," King Ephraim said, putting his hand on his wife's shoulder. She straightened up and smiled.

"I applaud you for being so chivalrous. I remember when Ephraim tried to take advantage of me at a confused state of mind before I convinced him to leave behind his lustrous thoughts," L'Arachel said, dramatically. Everyone knew this from their queen.

The boy bowed slightly nonetheless.

"I'm sorry for disrupting you, my lord," he said quickly. "I will work harder than ever to show my loyalty."

"If that is what you want to do in your life, I applaud your voracity," The King said before turning around and addressing everyone one last time. "Good luck to everyone. General Seth, I leave everyone in your care."

"Of course sire, we will begin shortly," General Seth said, bowing to the younger man with respect. Everyone knew the stories of the paladin Seth as well. The paladin stepped forward and the group of four walked away slowly, followed by the heavily armoured guards. The boy looked at the group as the two younger teens stared back, as if staring for someone.

* * *

Within the next half hour, everyone was told to pair up with someone for a trail battle against senior knights. The boy eventually found myself standing next to the young mage girl that stood behind him.

"Hey, want to partner up?" He asked her. She nodded quickly.

"S-sorry about earlier. I didn't want to get you in trouble for no reason," she said, bowing quickly again.

"Relax. Even the King himself forgave you," the boy said, chuckling. The girl stared up slightly before straightening herself up.

"M-my name is Janine, a mage from Serafew… I came here to become stronger," She said, holding her book close to her.

"I'm from Port Kiris. Riley," the boy said, as he looked around slightly. "What does becoming stronger mean to you?"

"To be able to protect myself and my family and friends… I don't think becoming physically strong would be too easy for me but I'll do what I can," Janine said, smiling shyly. "W-why do you ask?"

"That sounds good. I'll help you however I can then. You're one of the first mages I've ever met and the first I'll battle with," Riley said, as they walked together. "And it's a good way to find out what someone is like to me… the word stronger has such a broad definition."

They stood in an area assigned to them. Many others were paired and stood across from a senior knight, listening intently to their directions. A man clad in green armor came up to them after a few minutes, holding an iron sword. He wore similar armor to General Seth, indicating he was also a Paladin of Renais. He waved slightly.

"Good morning recruits, my name is Franz. I will be the one to evaluate your initial skill. We will have a mock battle. Do your best and give it your all," Franz said, raising his sword. Riley raised his own blade and Janine raised her hand quickly.

"W-wait. Both of us against you? Is that fair?" she asked, worriedly. The knight nodded.

"Don't worry about me. I will end our battle when I learned what I need, you may begin when ready," the paladin said, moving back a bit. "Strike without fear, show me your best!"

* * *

After a few minutes filled with the sounds of clinking metal, the paladin raised his hand and Riley lowered his sword, panting slightly from his movements. The armored man put on a cheery face again, as if he hadn't exerted any effort whatsoever. The paladin sheathed his sword and nodded.

"You did very well. Who taught you to fight?" Franz asked, crossing his arms as he spoke.

"My father, sir. He was a boat maker who was experienced with an axe but noticed I would do better with a blade and taught me basics instead. After that, I kinda just did my own thing. It's been a family dream for my parents to have a son become a knight," Riley said, sheathing his own sword. The man nodded and turned to the mage.

"What about you? My armor is pretty resistant to magic but you certainly know positioning," Franz began. "Standing behind Riley let you focus better while I had to ignore you."

"I- I studied magic from a woman I travelled with for a while… I-I heard she helped King Ephraim during his quest and she taught me to control my magic better. She led me here to hone my skills and serve the king,"

"Well… You both did very well. Seems like most people are ending their trails. I'll be happy to recommend you both as recruits. I look forward to seeing your true potential," Franz said, nodding his head quickly. Both recruits bowed.

"Thank you Sir Franz, I will not let your recommendation go in vain," Riley said. Janine quickly stood up and nodded, as if she couldn't say anything. The paladin turned and walked away. The mage immediately grabbed the swordsman's waist as she fell onto her knees. "H-hey, are you okay?"

"That was so nerveracking… Thanks for helping me," she said, quietly. She eventually stood up and smiled.

"Don't worry about it, that's what friends are for," Riley said, smirking.

"I was worried I wouldn't be able to make any friends here… I guess dropping my tome led to good things after all…" Janine said, smiling slightly. Her face turned a slight shade of red as she lifted her tome upwards in an attempt to hide herself.

"I guess so. Just make sure it doesn't actually get us into trouble," the boy said, as they returned to where they were originally. They had been instructed to leave their bags on the spot where they stood.

A few more minutes passed until everyone had returned to where they originally stood. All the knights stood behind General Seth with their arms crossed behind their backs. The general cleared his throat, again ending any idle chatters among the recruits.

"I've received nothing but positive comments from your instructors. Nothing will become easier from here on; quite the opposite, actually. You will be grouped into groups of five by the people vertically from you and chambers have been prepared for those who choose to stay," General Seth said before turning to the knights. "Thank you for assisting me, fellow knights… Kyle, please wake up your friend,"

A more heavily armored knight punched a man in paladin armor who stood beside him, asleep. His head shook violently as he yawned and stretched.

"Yeah, my two were goo-," the man said, mid yawn.

"Good riddance, Forde… Almost fifty years and you still haven't outgrown your laziness," the green armored knight, Kyle, said. The red armored Forde grinned.

"I'm a war hero, I think I deserve a good nap or two," Forde said, laughing heartily. Kyle sighed.

"You sure met that quota during the war itself," Kyle sighed. He bowed slightly. "I'm sorry General."

"Don't stress Kyle. I'm sure we wouldn't be the same without Forde, would we?" said General Seth, chuckling. He turned back around. "The first person in the line will be handed your room assignments, please get together and get to know each other. Look at those two. They've been friends since they were kids and look at them know."

"Yeah, aren't we safe if anything else happens," A female in red paladin armor said, jokingly.

With that, everyone recruit on the frontlines were handed a small scroll with a room number on them. Riley held the scroll as he turned around. He had only seen Janine behind him previously. Three males came up to them.

"Hey. Name's Jacob," A tired eyed blond boy said, waving slightly. On his waist was an iron clad bow and a quiver full of arrows behind him.

"I'm Gregory," a brown haired boy in bulky armor said. He held an iron lance almost as tall as Riley, which made Janine look even smaller in comparison.

"Fernand," the final boy with long, black hair said. He held a black tome and wore a dark robe; his eyes scanning the boy before him as if reading his soul.

"Name's Riley. Let's find our room before we get too comfortable…" Riley said, opening the small, sealed scroll he was handed.

With the immediate short introductions, they began their first group mission: finding their chambers.

* * *

The five recruits had found their room after a few minutes of searching due to the many people having similar issues. The simple room offered no more than five beds and a small chest for their belongings per bed. As they immediately entered the room, Janine and Jacob immediately plummeted into two beds as the rest entered and placed their bags on a remaining bed.

"I found out that dinner is every night at 8, breakfast is at 6 the next morning, and then we begin training," Riley said, placing his weapon and bag inside the chest.

"Sounds good. I was starting to get hungry," Janine mumbled, as she eventually sat up. She looked around. "So, where are you guys from?"

"I was born in Ide, near the castle. Nothing too extraordinary from me. Always been a dream of mine to be a knight," Gregory said, sitting on his own bed. His lance, too big to fit into the chest, rested on a wall beside him.

"Oh, me?" Jacob said, as the groups eyes shifted to him. "I was born in a small village called Lark. Pretty handy with a bow so I decided to try out. A change would make my life a bit less tedious than doing farmwork and hunting every day. Living in this place wouldn't be a bad change."

"I come from Serafew. My instructor said coming here would be a good way to improve my magic skills," Fernand said, crossing his arms. Janine stared at him intently.

"Are you a student of Lady Lute as well?" She asked. He shook his head. "Oh… I'm from Serafew as well and came here for the same reason…"

"I haven't seen my instructor for almost a year now. I hope to eventually prove my worth to him. I'll do anything to achieve my goals," Fernand said, leaning back against the wall, pushing excess hair from his face.

"I'm from Port Kiris. Guess we're all here for similar reasons then," Riley said, laying on the bed. "This is going to be interesting, hopefully we synchronize well in combat."

"Just keep me protected and I'll do alright. Not too keen on swords but I'm good at what I do," Jacob said, yawning.

"Everyone just remain behind me. This armor can take quite a beating," Gregory said. He was the only one out of the four boys to have a beard.

"Is it almost eight, I'm starvingggg," Janine moaned, falling face first on her bed again.

"This is going to be a long… hour," Fernand said, showing his first grin and chuckle as the rest of them joined.

* * *

A chilly wind blew through the castle grounds as the full moon and stars lit up the night sky. The iron and leather armor clad boy walked around, with his hands in his pockets and sword in its sheath, idly exploring the area. He had always seen the castle from afar but hadn't really thought he'd be in it.

He eventually ended up in the castle garden, unsure if he was allowed to be in the area. He entered nonetheless where he ended up near a small pond where he could see fish swimming in the clear water. He immediately kneeled down and put his hand into the cool water.

"What are you doing here?" came an unknown, gravelly voice.

Riley turned around, quickly putting a hand on his sword, but soon taking it off as he saw who the voice belonged to. The Princess of Renais stood a few feet away from him, giggling. Riley quickly stood up and bowed slightly as she cleared her throat.

"Good evening, Lady Abigail," Riley said. As he leaned up again, she sighed.

"You haven't changed at all, have you?" Princess Abigail said. "Just call me what you used to call me when we were young."

"I wasn't a junior knight of Renais back then. What are you doing out so late?" Riley asked, lowering his hand from the sword. The princess stood beside him and stared up.

"I like walking around when the weather is nice. The stars are always so beautiful, don't you think?" Princess Abigail asked, looking over at the boy.

"I suppose so… How's… Prince Yuri been?" Riley asked, turning to the girl.

"He was practicing with my father earlier… I've lost track of him since then. Did you find your chambers alright?" Abigail asked, staring back at the boy, who was looking deeply into the pond. "You still love fish, huh?"

"Yeah, I do. They're so calming to watch… but yeah, I found them. The four others in my group seem friendly enough. Hopefully they stay throughout the trials," Riley said, yawning slightly. He was quickly confused as he felt the girl hug him.

"I've missed you. I haven't seen you in years," Abigail said, quietly.

"I've missed you both as well. I'll do my best to protect you both," Riley said, keeping his composure.

"Stop acting like that… You act like we're not friends and you're just a servant," Abigail said, looking up at him. She pulled her body away and crossed her arms.

"It's not like that. I know we're still friends it's just…" Riley began. "You know… I want to earn this with my own skills. I don't want any special treatment."

"Hmm…" the girl hummed. "Not like I have any saying in that stuff… It's Seth's saying for most of the time… then my father's. My father does remembers you, you know."

"I didn't think he would. He didn't seem to when Janine dropped her tome," Riley said, crossing his own arms. A gust of wind blew, reminding the boy he was getting cold. He looked at his friend, who's dress not only looked elegant but also warm.

"I didn't notice that was you from the distance. Guess you made a good second impression on my parents," Abigail said, laughing. As he smiled, his eyes turned to another figure heading towards them.

"Am… I allowed to be here?" Riley asked, stepping back slightly.

"Huh? Oh," Abigail began, turning to him with a bright smile. "Not really. This is the royal family's private garden."

Riley turned away to run but the shadowy figure spoke as he thought to.

"I suppose I can also keep your secret…" said a familiar voice. Riley smirked.

Prince Yuri of Frelia walked up to him with a grin as he became fully lit. Abigail moved beside him and he extended his hand.

"By the way… She was lying. This is a public area, don't worry," Yuri said, as the other boy shook his hand. "You haven't changed a bit Riley, it is good to see you after all these years."

"It is. It's been what, three years since I last seen you two?" Riley said, tapping his sword's handle with his index finger. "I'd been waiting for this opportunity for so long, it's crazy to even be here tonight. Didn't think this is when we'd see each other again."

"I would've never thought the friend I played knight with using tree branches would be applying," Yuri said, chuckling slightly. Riley looked down at his waist, noticing a sword.

"Nice rapier, is that what you've been training with?" Riley asked. Yuri unsheathed the sword and swung it slowly as he nodded.

"My mother taught us mostly. King Ephraim is a master of the lance and my own father is a legendary archer," Yuri began. "She used to train with this kind of sword."

"I'd ask you to spar sometime but I don't think this dull blade would stand a chance," Riley said, smirking. His head turned to the princess. "You learned to use a sword?"

"Yeah. My father insisted I learn as well. Just like Queen Eirika… Seth generally taught me as well whenever he has some spare time," Abigail said, yawning slightly. The prince put his arm around her and she nudged her head onto his shoulder. The armored boy looked around.

"I suppose I should get going… I have to be up early tomorrow for the first training session," Riley said, stepping back a few steps. Yuri nodded quickly.

"It is getting pretty late… I wish you the best of luck, Riley," Yuri said, waving slightly. "We will have to spar together sometime, I need to see how much you've improved since we were younger."

Riley nodded and the prince slowly began to walk away. Abigail looked at him as he left and then moved back towards her friend. She hugged him again, looking up at him.

"Are you okay? You seem so distant," Abigail said, quietly.

"It's weird to see you two like this. It didn't seem like you were royalty back then… I suppose you wouldn't understand what I'm saying… I'm alright, don't worry," Riley said, stammering but donning a grin. "I'll see you around… Abbie."

With that, the princess smiled and nodded, leaving as well. The boy began to walk slowly back towards his room on the opposite side of the castle; where his best friends slept, engaged to be married and to be a symbol of unity between Frelia and Renais.

"I suppose we all change," Riley said, crossing his arms behind his head as he walked into the now darker hallways, away from the chilly wind and beautiful garden. As he turned towards his room, a familiar boy stood against the wall next to their door.

"What does strength mean to you, Riley?" Fernand asked, his mouth barely visible.

"To protect my loved ones," Riley said, stopped before the door. Fernand smiled and nodded.

"It's a beautiful night for our journey to begin, my friend," he began, swinging his head towards the door. "Everyone's asleep already, we should get some rest for tomorrow."

"Right."


End file.
